Lake Havasu

Steve and I went to Lake Havasu for the weekend to celebrate Julie's 30th birthday.  We had a lot of fun.  Sheldon is in his final rotation in the process of completing his four-year degree in optometry which is why they are living in Arizona through the middle of May.

 We enjoyed the hot tub several times at Julie and
Sheldon's rental home in LH.

 We went on a five-mile hike beginning at SARA'S Park right outside LH.  The actual hike was called SARA's Crack-in-the-Wall or simply The Crack.  SARA stands for Special Activities Recreation Area.

 Jace had a lot of fun, and so did I!

 It didn't take us long to figure out why the hike was called what it was.  The hike in some parts was narrow. slippery, and difficult.   Why, oh why, did I let Sheldon talk me into this????? 

 Sheldon carried Jace through the really narrow, steep parts.  At one point there was a large rope that we used to hang on to as we went down an 8-foot slippery rock.  I thought to myself, "Now, why am I doing this?"  "I must have rocks in my head"!

 In a couple spots in the "crack" there were ponds of water that presented a bit of an obstacle.

 The ultimate reward for our 2.5-mile hike one way was Lake Havasu!

 The water temperature was 50 degrees.  That's a bit too cold for me to swim.  However, Sheldon took the plunge; and Jace certainly wanted to but Julie said no to that one.

Steve couldn't resist taking a picture of this beautiful
desert plant in bloom.

 We celebrated Julie's birthday with a steak dinner, presents, chocolate cake, and a soak in the hot tub.

 Julie got a new sewing machine plus material to make another apron.  Natalie and I had fun picking out Julie's gifts earlier in the week.

This is the London Bridge at night.  It looked
really pretty with the lights on it.



Jace is modeling Grandpa's hat.



 Jace enjoyed "driving" my car.

 A few hours before we left for LV we enjoyed one final bday celebration at Chili's.  Lunch was great, and the hot brownie dessert topped off a great meal.

 We went back to the London Bridge to see it during
the daytime hours right before we ate at Chili's

 This is where Sheldon is working in LH.

 Here is another view of where Sheldon works Monday through Friday.  Graduation is just around the corner, and soon he will be employed and practicing as an optometrist.  Hurray!

 This is Julie and Sheldon's rental home in two weeks.  None of the homes have grass lawns.  Every home seemed to have desert landscaping.  Also, there were no street lights.  Sheldon says they have a law preventing street lights as it is a city for gazing at the stars.  Sounds romantic to me. . .

This is where Julie, Sheldon, and Jace live right now.  It's a rental and will be their home for two more weeks.

And The Baptismal Girl Is . . . .

KYRA MAE DEBAUCH

Julie, Jace, Natalie, Cali, Ashton, Steve, and I all flew on the same Southwest flight to St. Louis on Thursday, February 24th. We left about dinner time and arrived around midnight in a snow storm. I am so glad I wore my rain boots! Melanie flew from Dallas and met us at Heather's house the same evening. All of the traveling was because Kyra had turned eight years old a few weeks before. She was scheduled to be baptized on Saturday, February 26th. Chad's parents, Bruce and Jean Baker, drove from Wisconsin on Thursday as well. Needless to say, there was quite a group at Heather and Chad's for the weekend.

Friday we went shopping and had lunch at one of our favorite Mexican restaurants. Later that afternoon we all enjoyed walking to the neighborhood pond near Heather and Chad's home. Even though it was slushy and snowy from the previous night's storm, we enjoyed being outside and exploring. Bruce made a nice pork roast dinner later that night for everyone.

Saturday was the big baptismal day. Heather and Chad had planned out every little detail perfectly, so we all just pitched in where needed. I helped make the treat bags that would be passed out to all those that attended the baptism. Kyra had professional pics taken in her baptismal dress a few weeks before and some of those were on display in the Relief Society Room during the baptism. I talked on baptism, and Jean talked about the Holy Ghost. Chad performed both the baptism and the confirmation with both grandpas serving as witnesses for the baptism. After we took a few pictures at the church we headed home for a buffet dinner.

The first two nights we stayed at Heather and Chad's home, and then based on a promise I made to Kyra years ago, Steve and I rented a hotel room at the Drury Inn for the last two nights we were in Missouri. Kyra wanted to go swimming at an indoor swimming pool, so even though it was very cold outside we all enjoyed a nice swim in the pool and relaxing in the hot tub.

Sunday we went to church, and then Steve and I invited Kyra, Skye, and Cali over to the hotel for a slumber party. We had a lot of fun. We went swimming for a few hours, ate treats, and watched a DVD. Just when we were getting ready to go to sleep after a long day we were instructed via the intercom to seek cover in the shelter located in the garage as a tornado was supposed to touch down in Chesterfield and St. Louis. The girls were confused and a little worried, but they complied when we asked them to come quickly with us to the garage of the hotel. Luckily, we didn't have to stay more than 30 minutes as the storm blew over and the tornado never hit the ground where we were. However, it rained heavily, and the winds were supposed to be moving at 70 miles per hour. Part of the fence blew over at the hotel, and a huge tree fell over on top of a sports car owned by one of Heather's friends from the ward.

Monday morning everyone came over to the hotel from the house, and we enjoyed another swim. We ate lunch at a place called Crazy Bowls and Wraps. It was absolutely delicious and a perfect way to end our short but eventful Missouri trip before flying home to Las Vegas in time for work on Tuesday. Ugh!!!!!

Sheldon, Julie and Jace Are Back

Snow on the First Day Back to School

Right before I went to bed the night before school started at the end of winter break, Steve asked me to look out the garage door. It was snowing! When I woke up the next morning to go to school, I was shocked to see that the snow hadn't melted. In fact it was still snowing, and there was snow everywhere. As I arrived at school about 6:30 a.m. I was greeted with what you see in the pictures. I actually wore my waterproof rainboots to school on Monday and Tuesday. It seemed funny to me because I really bought them to wear when I vacation in Missouri and Oregon where snow and rain are common in the winter months. Could this really be Las Vegas?

Happy New Year! 2011

Melanie flew out of LV bound for Oklahoma this morning, so she actually missed our New Year's celebration. I thoroughly enjoyed having her for this past week. I am looking forward to our next family gathering for Kyra's baptism in St. Louis in February.
We began our New Year's Eve celebration with finger foods and snacks. I feel like I'm going to pop. We've had way too much food this last week. The diet has to start Monday.

After dinner we all put on party hats and used our whistles to make lots and lots of noise. It was totally fun to be with the family. We decided to celebrate as though we lived in NYC, so we actually brought in the New Year at 9:00 p.m. The kids needed to get to bed, so it seemed like a perfect way to enjoy the kiddies and play cards, etc. late into the evening with just the adults.

Aren't they cute???? Happy New Year!

Holiday Fun Continues

We went to the Bass Pro Shop/Silverton Hotel twice. The first time the mermaid wasn't swimming in her big tank, so we had to go back to see her.

At the Bass Pro Shop we practiced our shooting skills.

The store was huge and had tons and tons of animals. It's quite entertaining walking through the store and looking here, there, and everywhere at all the displays.

I bought all the grandkids suckers as we were leaving the first time. They wanted to sit down on the fish bench outside and have a taste of their new treat.

The girls had a turn sitting in Santa's sleigh.

I think Thomas, Natalie, Cali, and Ashton need to RUN!!!!

On the second trip to the Silverton Hotel, the kids were finally able to see "the mermaid."

It appears the mermaid even likes to pose for a pic now and then.

Natalie told us about King Putt which was an indoor glow-in-the-dark miniature golfing facility. We had lots of fun even though I LOST!

All the walls and decorations were so cute. It was lots of fun just to look at the pictures while I waited my turn.

It looks like we picked a good indoor activity on a cool wintry day for Vegas.

The grandkids have had a lot fun playing together this past week including posing for all of my requests to stop their activity and "smile" at Grandma GG's camera.

After we got home from golfing, we had some "girl time" while Steve and Chad went to a movie called "True Grit." We painted, colored, applied tattoos, and made lollipops.

Our lollipop molds were Santa Claus, a bear, and an angel. The angel was the hardest to make. It kept breaking when we tried to get it out of the mold. Oh well, the other ones turned out.

While we were waiting for our dinner to finish cooking, we opened a box from Julie, Sheldon, and Jace. They are in Honolulu until mid February. They had a chance to go shopping at the same swap meet that Steve and I have been to many times. Julie mailed home a box with gifts for all of us from their shopping spree at the swap meet. It contained a bracelet for all the girls, earrings, hair clips, key chains, and chocolate macademia nuts. We were all happy to receive the gifts and everyone said more than once that we wished Julie and her family were with us celebrating the holidays. Even though we know they are having a fabulous time in Hawaii, we can't wait for their return.